During its 12 regular-season games the Wildecats scored more than one goal only three times and had a 4-5-3 record. They were shut out three times, held to one goal six times and scored 18 goals -- six of them against St. Mary's.

In the four playoff games the Wildecats have done an about-face by scoring 13 goals despite horrible weather conditions for two games.

"We're starting to create a lot of scoring situations," Nesbitt said.

He thinks that losing to Oakland Mills, 3-0, midway through the season was a positive thing for his team.

"We were outplayed by Oakland Mills and worked hard to improve," he said.

Two games later the Wildecats lost to Centennial, 2-0, in a game Nesbitt thinks was the team's turning point.

"That's when they realized they could play with most teams," he said. "They sensed they were competitive, and our level of play has been much more consistent since then."

The Wildecats avenged their worst loss by beating Oakland Mills in the Class 2A South Region semifinal, 4-1.

Then they survived terrible weather conditions to beat Glenelg in overtime, 2-1, and even worse conditions to defeat Parkside, 1-0.

Sophomore goalkeeper Nick Parypinski, helped by a defensive line that includes sophomores Lars Berg, Steve Feddor and Matt Shapiro, and senior sweeper Jeremy Young, has five shutouts.

The other starting midfielders are Scott Johnson and Mike McDonald, with Marcus Lages and Andrew Peverly the top subs.

"The first time we played Bel Air played well and held us scoreless in the first half. West had to score two nice ones in the second half," Stara said. "But we were without three starters and the field was a mess."